The Cup

 

While Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and said to them on the way, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified; and on the third day he will be raised.”

The Request of the Mother of James and John

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favor of him. And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Declare that these two sons of mine will sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” He said to them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left, this is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

When the ten heard it, they were angry with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

There are many popular Christian evangelists these days who preach a prosperity gospel. They say that the Christian life is a bed or roses and there is no need for any of us to suffer because Christ has paid the price for all time, so we can all enjoy great success and prosperity. I seriously don’t know what gospel they are preaching, because it surely isn’t this one. This one constantly talks about the suffering the Christian faces, and Jesus is one of those who speak about it.

Like in today’s story. The mother of James and John goes to Jesus with a rather cheeky request that her sons sit on either side of Jesus in his kingdom. In Mark’s version it is the apostles themselves who go, but it doesn’t matter because they are here with their mother. Jesus ignores the mother and addresses himself to the apostles because he knows where the request is coming from. “You aren’t thinking straight, he says, before asking: “Are you willing to drink the cup I am about to drink?”

The cup isn’t a cup of wine, it’s a cup of suffering. In the Garden of Gethsemane, just prior to his Passion, Jesus cries out in agony, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me,” before adding, “yet, not my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). Both the apostles said they were willing to drink the cup, and they did. James was the first of the apostles to be martyred for Christ. John was the only one who wasn’t, but he had a very hard life, finally ending up in exile in the island of Patmos. 

So, you see, suffering is part of the package. Yesterday, we reflected upon how we were children of God. In his letter to the Romans, Paul confirms this, but also confirms the price of this sonship, or if you prefer, the cup that needs to be drunk. “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs —heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory” (Romans 8:16-17).

I know this isn’t a message we like to hear. Which is why those prosperity preachers are so popular. But this is the gospel message. I don’t know where James and John will be sitting in Jesus’ kingdom, but I am pretty sure they will be in the throne room, very close to the King. As will a host of others who have embraced suffering for the love of their God. Like Paul and so many others who followed in their footsteps. 

Now, for those of you who don’t know who to believe, the prosperity preachers or preachers like me, might I suggest you check out what Jesus says for yourself. They’re all right here in this book we call the Bible.